Nigerian king welcomes US handover of two Benin Bronzes

BENIN

The traditional ruler of the Benin Kingdom in southern Nigeria has welcomed a U.S. museum's decision to return two precious artefacts stolen by British forces in the 19th century.

In a ceremony at the royal palace in Benin City on July 15, representatives for the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art handed the brass plaque and wooden sculpture of a hen to the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II.

"I hope the other museums in America will follow this," the Oba told Nigerian media, explaining that many of the looted artefacts hold spiritual as well as artistic importance.

Ewuare II is a descendant of the sovereign who reigned over the kingdom when it was ransacked by British colonial soldiers in 1897.

Thousands of "Benin Bronzes" — 16th to 18th century metal plaques and sculptures — were pillaged from the royal palace and have been held in museums and private collections across Europe and the United States.

The Stanley Museum said the brass plaque shows a high-ranking officer from the Benin Court with a ceremonial sword, while the wood and iron hen sculpture was likely created as an "altarpiece devoted to maternal ancestors."

"The violence and loss associated with these objects can never be forgotten," the museum's curator of African art Cory Gundlach said.

Gundlach said the museum was "committed to acknowledging this tragic chapter in history and using it as a catalyst for positive change".

In a key moment for the Benin Kingdom's efforts to regain the looted artifacts, former Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari declared in 2023 that returned works would be given to the Oba and not to the Nigerian state.

The Stanley Museum said its handover marked the first time a North American museum had directly given such artefacts back "to the rightful owner."